Diplomat dispensing Novartis’ Rydapt

FLINT, Mich. — Diplomat Pharmacy on Thursday announced that it had added a new drug to the roster of its oncology treatments. The specialty pharmacy chain will be dispensing Novartis’ Rydapyt (midostaurin), a treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia that is positive for an FLT3 mutation detected by a test approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The oral therapy is administered twice daily for adults with an FLT3 mutation-positive acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis. The FDA also approved the drug as a treatment for aggressive systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with associated hematological neoplasm and mast cell leukemia.

“We are excited about the recent approval of RYDAPT® (midostaurin) to treat newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML patients. It opens a new treatment strategy for these patients,” Diplomat president Paul Urick said. “We understand cancer treatments can be complex. Through our coordinated care team, we are eager to provide patients this encouraging new therapy option with our expertise and personal support.”

The drug is indicated to treat schizophrenia, acute manic or mixed bipolar I disorder on its own or as an adjunctive treatment to lithium or divalproex, acute depressive disorders in bipolar disorder, maintenance treatment of bipolar I, as an adjunctive treatment to lithium or divalproex and as an adjunctive treatment to antidepressants for the treating major depressive disorder.

Lupin’s generic will be available in 50-, 150-, 200-, 300- and 400-mg dosage strengths. Seroquel XR had U.S. sales of $1.27 billion for the 12 months ended March 2017, according to QuintilesIMS data.

PQA issues quality awards to eight Medicare plans

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Pharmacy Quality Alliance on Thursday announced eight Medicare plans received PQA Quality Awards for high achievement or significant improvement in PQA measures of medication safety and appropriate use. Six plans received the PQA Excellence in Quality Award and two plans received PQA's Quality Improvement Award during PQA's 12th Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

"These awards are unique in that they are based solely on publicly available quality scores," stated Laura Cranston, executive director PQA. "The effective use of medications is a top issue for all care providers, and it is extremely important within the Medicare Part D program. PQA recognizes these plans for the high level of medication management performance in the care of their Medicare members," she said. "The excellence and improvement set forth in the criteria for these two distinct awards are achieved through careful and deliberate strategies and interventions executed by the plans and their partners in the medication management of patients."

The 2017 PQA Excellence in Quality Award recognizes the highest level of combined achievement in overall performance and medication-use quality. Recipients achieved an overall summary rating of at least 4.5 stars, a 5-star rating on four or more of the PQA medication measures used within the CMS Medicare Star Ratings program and a 4-star rating on the fifth PQA medication measure.

This year's Excellence in Quality Award recipients are:

Blue Cross Blue Shield Northern Plains Alliance;

Erickson Advantage, a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Plan;

Kaiser Permanente California Regions;

Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic Region;

Kaiser Permanente Northwest Region; and

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage Plans (multiple states).

The 2017 PQA Quality Improvement Awardrecognizes the highest improvement in medication safety and appropriate use. The Quality Improvement Award does not take into consideration the plan's overall summary rating. Instead, awardees must have received a 5-star rating on the CMS Quality Improvement measure and the greatest combined improvement from 2016 to 2017 on PQA measures used within the CMS Medicare Part D Star Ratings program.

This is the seventh year that PQA, a consensus-based, multi-stakeholder organization, has recognized health plans for achievements in Medicare prescription services and excellence in appropriate and safe medication use.

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